I’m applying twice, for different projects for an Idea To Impact workshop @ CbrIN
Any feedback? Can comment on the Docs file here:
What is the name of your business/project?
Snail4.ME
Contact Name Drew Ward
Phone 0499 21 66 29
Email sydandy7@gmail.com
Summarise your business/project in 1 sentence? *
Helping people with disabilities be included more in life’s events and providing a more flexible opportunity for housing for people unable to attain normal housing, or endure the wait in unsuitable dwellings.
Who is your customer? *
My initial focus is on the thousands of people with ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) who miss out on many significant events in ours and others lives, due to limitations of our conditions; also, to provide accommodation for some of those who need it most.
What is the problem that your customer is experiencing? *
The problem is twofold- every day people get married, have anniversaries, or birthday parties in other cities, and although we would like to attend, it is almost impossible. Some of us have travelled to these either by car or public transport, only to arrive and be too exhausted to actually attend the event we travelled for.
Most of us were struck down before we earned enough money to purchase a house, and the wait for public accommodation in Canberra is seven years, and even for priority housing, more than a year.
How does your product/service solve this problem for your customers? *
For many people with M.E. or similar disabilities it is impossible to drive three hours straight to another city and be able to do anything afterwards, let alone a party. Even being driven, let alone on public transport, is not restful enough. Drive a bit, take a real nap in a dark space, drive some more, for sure!
And when they do get there, they often need an environment than can be controlled more than an average hotel room, let alone a room in a house; potentially with kids who don’t understand why someone they never see enough might need to be resting in a dark room, in the middle of the day.
Mildly adapted motorhomes or even converted old vans or buses would allow people both easier access into the ‘housing’ market, and also a way to reach events in other cities.
It would be great as a long term goal to have some available to loan to people who just need it for a week or two (NDIS funded for the few who have access), or initially it could be a house-sit-swap arrangement for people who live in one more permanently.
Access to this housing ‘option’ could be funded through a variation on novated leasing, which also would reduce maintenance and other potential unexpected or unanticipated expenses.
How is your product/service different from your competitors or alternatives? *
There is no current easy avenue to property ownership for people disabled early in life.
Many of us once dreamed of or planned to own property but were struck down too soon.
I’ve already explained the problem of conventional travel, there is a reason the main awareness campaign for ME is #MillionsMissing. We are the people who miss out on so much. 25% are unable to leave their houses, and a fifth of those are unable to leave their beds at all.
I personally am luckier than that, but I still haven’t been on a holiday for more than a decade.
There are some options for ‘respite care’ and breaks (some even NDIS funded), but there is currently no way for some people to easily get there, without requiring them to recover/recuperate for a few days on arrival. Or perhaps they might be wiped for the whole duration of the visit, negating the whole experience.
“Quantity of life isn’t the only thing that matters. Quality of life is important too.“
Amanda Francey (Illustrator Interrupted)
Tell us why you’d like to be a part of this program. What are you hoping to get out of the Idea to Impact Intensive Program? *
I want to work with other people enthusiastic about their ideas and moving them forward, who can bounce ideas and concepts off each other and springboard into new places. Alone I have a tendency to get bogged down in detail and stagnation.
I also hope to make interesting new contacts who have different perspectives and opinions that can inform, enrich and expand my ideas and plans.
What’s your biggest challenge with your project at the moment?
Gaining traction, letting people in and finding new ideas and collaborating together to know the next right thing, and moving in that direction.
I have a few ideas of where to go, but reality checks and other perspectives will lead to more rational choices.